Electability Reflects What Americans Believe is Possible

Between May 30-June 3, we conducted a listening survey to 1,871 registered voters to understand how the concept of electability is influencing the beliefs and behavior of the American electorate. While traditional research has struggled to define and measure electability, our unique methodology provides unique insight into this complex concept.

Likely Democratic voters feel a mix of extreme urgency and uncertainty about the chances of winning in 2020. This mindset helps to explain why perceptions of electability are such a strong force this cycle. The impact of perceived electability can be seen in the gap between the primary candidate voters choose in a typical horse race question compared to the candidate that they most wish could be the next president.

The electability gap is driven in large part by beliefs about how gender is perceived in America today. CONT.

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